coastal home furnishings and accessories

:: Arrange Flowers Like a Pro ::

Tuesday’s Tip from the Pros

Fresh Flowers are a great way to add life and color to your home. We’d love to have weekly arrangements in our home but we don’t always have the time (or money) to stop at a boutique flower shop for something pre-arranged. And those grocery store bouquets… Let’s just say they somehow look worse when we plop them into a vase at home.

With Valentine’s Day coming up quickly, we’re crossing our fingers, hoping to receive flowers from that special someone! Here are a few quick tips to make sure your flower arrangements – Valentine’s or any other day – look spectacular in your home.

1. Vase Size

It may seem obvious, but we have to say it’s important to start out by picking a vase based on the size and type of your bouquet. Multiple stiff-stemmed flowers such as Hydrangea and Peonies (above) can withstand a wider mouthed vase than Daisies (below), tulips or irises.

Fewer flowers work best in small mouth vases. Or create a larger bouquet by collecting filler leaves like ferns, lavender or even fallen tree branches in surrounding gardens. ** Be sure to ask your neighbors before you cut ! **

2. Flower Length

Don’t be afraid to cut your stems! Unless you’ve received long-stemmed roses, trimming the ends a bit not only encourages water absorption but it also helps accommodate the flowers to the vase type you have on hand. For a standard arrangement, about 1/3 of the flower length should be visible above the top of the vase.

TRICK: Place your vase {carefully} on the edge of your sink. Hold the flower bunch inside of the sink, adjacent to the vase, and move them vertically up or down to visualize how the flowers will look shorter or taller. Then cut accordingly.

3. The Secret Weapon

Florist Tape. It’s only a few dollars at the home improvement or craft store and it makes a huge difference in presentation. Here, fellow blogger, Emily at Cupcakes and Cashmere has taped a 3×3 grid with florist tape on top of a wide mouth vase to give her Hydrangea some added personality.

Be sure to click on over to her site for the entire DIY Tutorial and even more tricks to arranging flowers like a pro.

4. Extra Credit

Add large leaves, wrap long twigs or cut citrus fruits and place in the bottom of the vase to add interest to a more plain bouquet. Good luck and let us know how they turn out!